Festival Of Lights

Happy Hanukkah!

Tonight begins the first night in the 8 night celebration of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. And just what is Hanukkah?

Well, it is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. There was a revolt and when they took back the temple and purified it, there was only enough sacred oil to burn for one day. But a miracle occurred and the oil lasted 8 whole days.

And so Jewish families celebrate by lighting a menorah, which holds eight candles, one lit each night from right to left. And they eat food fried in oil.

And while we are not a Jewish family, obviously, we celebrate right along with them. So we will light our nightly candle and make potato pancakes and spin our dreidels.

(It sounds almost pagan… candles, food, prayers…. Just saying. Focus on the sames.)

Anyway, to me it isn’t Hanukkah until I hear this…



Okay, so not very religious but it always makes me laugh.

(On another side note… Santa comes tonight. Reminds me of a certain Holly King. This one looks like my tree topper.)

Blessed be!

On A Cold Night

Sometimes your best laid plans don’t always pan out. Sometimes what the Gods deliver is better than your plan.

Tonight we honor the full moon. This one is called the Cold Moon or the Long Night’s Moon. Both of those names are apt as for the fact that they happen around the winter solstice and the coldest and darkest time of the year.

Today I went to Disneyland and honored the God and Goddess by spending the time with my family. We walked around and had a great time as always. (FYI… I read somewhere that Walt Disney was Pagan. His family came from Ireland, so perhaps Celtic.) In the park they had booths set up to try holiday foods of other cultures. We tried a curry dish from India, a lamb dish from the Middle East and kugel from the Jewish booth. (The curry was my favorite.)

Since I knew we had planned to go to Disneyland today, I had planned to have an esbat last night by myself.

Planned to.

But then…

Some very nice person made a coconut cake for a friend. And that friend was having a bad day and the cake sure lifted her. Then she called me and asked if I wanted to share in this cake. And I told her since she is sharing her cake with me; I will share my dinner with her. (It was tacos and pozole.)

So instead of an esbat service for one, I held an impromptu, informal service for several. We ate a fabulous meal. I taught a younger witch (13) about runes. She and I did a candle spell together for good luck. She told me about her first deck of tarot cards. She admired things on my alter and I gave her stuff to set up her own at home. (Much like mine and her mother.) I gave her a candle and some incense and an incense holder. I even lent her a book to study and gave her a new blank book to write in.

Before I go on… let me tell you about that blank book.

Earlier this month I received a box of items from a subscription service I subscribe to. Inside the box was this blank book. It has a design on it from the new movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them”. (Yes, I am a huge Harry Potter nut.) When I pulled it out of the box, my husband asked me what I was going to do with yet another blank book. I immediately told him I was going to give it to the before mentioned 13 year old. I told him she would need it. For what purpose and when, I did not know, but she would need it.

And she did. Last night. The God and Goddess know what they are doing.

Anyway, she and I read runes and talked. Then we enjoyed an informal communion. We used the coconut cake as it was already a blessing.

After they left, her mother sent me this picture of the alter she went home and set up.

I love it.

See…

I wrote this post for these reasons…

1. Being Pagan is a perfectly normal part of life.
2. The God and Goddess know what is best for us.
3. Magick is everywhere, you just have to look for it.
Blessed be.

Dallas

Yesterday, a very angry man ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers, three of which were veterans, and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. The shooting was the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since the September 11 attacks. This angry man was also a veteran, who was reportedly angry over police shootings of black men and stated that he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers. What is really most important to know is that five families will never be the same. Yesterday morning those 5 people got up and went to work as usual. Today those same five families will not have their loved one coming home. We offer prayers to these families and to all those who were affected by the senseless violence against these police officers. We pray for strength as we continue to find out details as to why this has happened. And we pray that it does not happen again.

Following the shooting, this same very angry man fled inside a building on the campus of a local college. Police followed him there, and a standoff ensued. Early this morning, he lost his life in the battle with the police. We offer those same prayers to his family, as they too will not have their loved one home tonight. We pray that they find strength to get through this tremendous tragedy.

It is in times like this, people from all of our diverse American backgrounds need to come together and unite as one to lift the spirits of those who were impacted by these actions. We must pray that our country is stronger than just one angry individual. I pray for our country now. I pray for peace.

Blessed Be.

For The Jesters

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Today is the official day of hoaxes, pranks, and jokes.

This is not really a holiday. Not really…

The first recorded mention of anything April Fool related was in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales from 1392. On April 1, the proud rooster is tricked by the sly fox however he escapes when the fox attempts to chide his pursuers and accidentally let go of the rooster.

Whatever it is, you go out and enjoy it. No reason for witches not to have a little fun.

Here are a few to get you started…

One Night With The King

Today my Jewish friends celebrate Purim. Of all the Jewish holidays, this is one of my favorite stories.

It all starts with Esther; a lovely young Jewish girl living in Persia with her dear cousin. She ends up taken in by the King Of Persia as part of his haram. And she is such a hottie he makes her the Queen. Of course, he does not know that she is Jewish.

The King has this right hand man called Haman. He is not a nice fellow. One day he meets Esther’s cousin and Ester’s cousin refuses to bow down to him. Maybe because Haman was such a jackass. Yeah, that was probably it.

Anyways…

Haman gets all in his feelings and decided to exterminate the Jews. Total Nazi. And he feeds the King a line so the King goes for it.

Well Esther, being a Jew, can’t have that. All her people don’t need to die. Not for that jerk Haman.

So she has a plan. She will go see the King and she will convince him to stop this. But you can’t just go see the King uninvited. That is a good way to lose your head, even if you are the Queen.

So she prays and fasts for three days. So did every other Jew. Then she went to see the king.

And the king is delighted to see her. From what I understand, she was probably made up like a little lady treat. And the king decided to indulge. And whatever happened after that must have been something because the King offered Esther anything her little heart desired. And what did Esther want? To save her people. And have Haman hanged from the very gallows he built to hang the Jews. And for good measure they hanged his kids too.

And so the Jewish celebrate their triumph over evil.

And to celebrate, they generally fast the day before Purim and the day of they are commanded to “eat, drink and be merry.” They have feasts and give food to others. They give to charity. They read the story of Esther aloud and boo and hiss when Haman is mentioned. They eat cookies called Hamantashen witch are triangular and fruit filled.

Sounds like a fun time.

(FYI… the story of Esther is in the bible as well, but I am pretty sure she keeps all her clothes on.)

And why should witches care?

Because those who are accepting of others will be accepted themselves. Karma. What you give, you get returned to you threefold. Remember that.

Blessed Be.

29? You have a lot Of Explaining to Do February

Everyone knows that every four years we add one day to February to keep our calendar days consistent.

We do.
Really.
I checked.
I Googled it.

Via Wikipedia, “February 29, also known as Leap Day is a date added to most years that are divisible by 4. A leap day is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth's rotation around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in most of the world.
In the Gregorian calendar, years that are divisible by 100, but not by 400, do not contain a leap day. Thus, 1700, 1800, and 1900 did not contain a leap day; neither will 2100, 2200, and 2300. Conversely, 1600, 2000 did and 2400 will. Years containing a leap day are called leap years. February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year.

A leap day is observed because a complete revolution around the Sun takes approximately 6 hours longer than 365 days (8,760 hours). A leap day compensates for this lag, realigning the calendar with the Earth's position in the Solar System; otherwise, seasons would occur earlier than intended in the calendar year. Originally, the Julian calendar added a leap day every four years, but this turned out to add too many days, making the equinoxes and solstices shift gradually to earlier dates. As the shifting became noticeable (by the late 16th century the vernal equinox had drifted to March 11) the Gregorian calendar was introduced both to shift it back by omitting several days, and to reduce the number of leap years via the "century rule" to keep the equinoxes more or less fixed.”

See! I told you. Science is awesome.

But what of this magical extra day? What are we to do with ourselves?

Well, in 1892 the city of St. Petersburg, Florida was incorporated. In 1916, South Carolina raised the age for factory, mill, and mine workers from 12 to 14, same day that actress and singer Dinah Shore was born. In 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone with the Wind. In 1980, hockey player Gordie Howe scored his 800th goal. In 2012, singer Davy Jones from the Monkees passed away.

I know… “Hey lady, you’re a freakin witch so what is your point?”

I was getting to that.

Two things.

The first warrants of the Salem witch trials were issued on February 29, 1692. The trials continued until early 1693 and resulted in the execution of 20 people and the death of seven others in jail. So there is that. Please do not attempt to execute me.

But the other thing… Now here is something.

An old Irish tale.

Remember St. Brigid? I mentioned her at Imbolc. Well, legend has it she struck a deal with St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland so that on this day, Leap Day, it would be permissible to for women to propose marriage to men. Also known as Bachelor’s Day, women could initiate dances and propose marriage on this day. In some parts of the UK it is permissible for the whole Leap Year. And men who refused this proposal were obliged to buy the women an expensive gift, a silk dress or a fur coat perhaps. Although now it might be Coach Purse or a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. In some other areas of the UK if a man refused the proposal he had to buy the lady gloves. This would be to hide the shame of not being married. There were even laws governing this in the Middle Ages. It was believed to balance the traditional roles of men and women, the way Leap Day balances the calendar.

So go on ladies, get down on one knee and nab that dreamboat.

Or at least get something nice for yourself out of it.

Although in Greece it is considered unlucky to marry during a leap year, especially on a leap day. So propose and start planning that wedding for next year.